By a slim margin, I prefer ravens over bats as airborne avatars of the Halloween season. Their lore may not be quite as rich as that of bats, but ravens have their own occult associations. Plenty of cultures have invested them with metaphysical significance — as harbingers of death, messengers of evil, symbols of regeneration; as trickster figures, as players in creation myths. It sure wasn’t a bat that a doleful Edgar Allen Poe called on to embody a transcendent, almost supernatural grief.

Ravens are just as fascinating here in the real world: They’re widespread, adaptable, smart as hell, and full of surprises: “When it comes to animal intelligence, these birds rate up there with chimpanzees and dolphins.” They’ll use tools to acquire food, and drop rocks on humans to dissuade them from approaching nests. Researchers have even noted raven behaviors corresponding to grudge-holding and empathy. Combine their cognitive abilities with an omnivorous diet — they’ll eat almost anything, including the trash and roadkill humans generate in abundance — and it’s no wonder that, according to BirdAndHike.com, “Common raven numbers probably are higher now than before” communities developed in Southern Nevada.

Ravens are often confused with crows, another intelligent species in the Corvus genus, but there are strong differences. Ravens are larger, have heavier beaks, and travel less often in groups; on the other hand, crows win in the collective-noun department: a murder of crows is more Halloween-appropriate than an unkindness of ravens; also, The Crow with Brandon Lee beats The Raven with John Cusak.

Common Raven
Sciencey name: Corvus corax
Size: Up to 26 inches, with a wingspan as wide as 4 feet
Lifespan: 10–15 years
Lifestyle: Ravens generally mate for life. But before mating, the younger birds gather in groups sometimes characterized as “gangs.”Listen: Click here to listen to a variety of raven calls. Fun tip: Turn it up loud enough for your dogs to hear. No. 3 really triggers mine.